How to Turn Your Freelance Website into a Sales Machine
matthew.barlocker
11 November 2021A strong web presence is perhaps the single most important tool in a creative professional’s arsenal. But with so many places online where you can quickly build a professional profile—LinkedIn, Fiverr, Upwork, Contently, Behance, just to name a few—it’s easy for your own professional website to fall by the wayside and be forgotten about.
When executed correctly, however, your website can become a sales machine capable of delivering far more value than any third-party platform ever could. And at a time when working as a freelancer or contractor is as competitive as ever, with 36 per cent of workers having reported that they freelanced in some capacity during the pandemic (up from 8 per cent in 2019), it’s crucial that you’re not caught lacking.
Using your freelance website for sales
Taking the time to build a website shows clients that you’re a professional. It communicates who you are, who you work with, and, most importantly, it shows potential clients what you can do for them. When done well, this is how a website can begin to work as a lead magnet and turn engaged visitors into paying clients.
Here are a few things that you can do to begin using your own freelance website as a part of your sales process:
Showcase your strongest work
They say that you should always put your best foot forward. While you’re bound to be proud of every piece of work you’ve ever produced (or let’s be more realistic, most of it…), your website’s portfolio should be reserved for only your best work.
Having your work on your website also allows potential clients to review it at their own pace and reach out to you when they’re ready. This is preferable to the sales process being handled the opposite way around because few people truly enjoy being sold to.
Explain (or, better yet, show) the value it delivered
It’s not enough to just showcase your work, you also need to explain and demonstrate how it was used and why it worked or what result(s) it achieved. This helps you position yourself as a professional who’s able to understand and adapt to the needs of your clients in order to deliver a positive return for them.
Include lots of testimonials
While showing off your work and the results that it has achieved is great, it’s much better when other people sing your praises instead. Testimonials are priceless pieces of content (arguably more valuable than your work itself!) because they’re made up of raw feedback from real people who have previously worked with you.
Keep everything brief
You don’t need a huge website. In fact, the smaller it is the better; less is more. Remember that your website’s visitors are likely to be busy decision-makers and that your main competitors are just a mere few clicks away. You don’t want to scare away prospective clients with a confusing website and an overload of information, so keep everything as brief as you possibly can.
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